5.4.6. Where and When Standardization is Carried Out

Consensus building and final agreements take place in meetings. Technical committees generally have one annual meeting, while subcommittees and working groups may meet more often. Between meetings, terminology research is carried out, starndardization files are compiled, comments and observations are collated, and other groundwork is laid. Group members increasingly rely on electronic systems such as e-mail, discussion groups, electronic forums or teleconferencing to exchange information and prepare standardization files.

Working meetings follow meeting-management principles, with formal agendas and meeting minutes to document problem concepts, linguistic issues and final agreements. The use of a project management system to keep track of group members, subject specialists, meeting schedules, document distribution, correspondence and project status facilitates the organization and work of the group.